Gann Academy is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

high school located in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

, United States. It was founded in 1997 and is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boa ...

and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

History

Gann Academy was founded in 1997 as The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston by former head of school Daniel Lehmann. It was originally adjacent to

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

. Lehman intended for the school to be a place to foster a sense of community among students from different forms and expressions of Judaism. Casually nicknamed "New Jew," it opened with 48 students in the 9th and 10th grades. In 1999, the school moved to the top four floors and basement of the

Fleet Bank FleetBoston Financial was a Boston, Massachusetts-based bank created in 1999 by the merger of Fleet Financial Group and BankBoston. In 2004 it merged with Bank of America; all of its banks and branches were converted to Bank of America. Histor ...

building (

BankBoston BankBoston was a bank based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was created by the 1996 merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank. One of its predecessor banks started in 1784, but the merged BankBoston was short-lived, being acquired by Fleet Bank in 19 ...

at the time) at the intersection of Prospect Street and Main Street in Waltham, seeking larger facilities and a more permanent home. It used the basement of the local Temple Beth Israel for additional classroom space. The school changed its name in 2003 in honor of philanthropist Joseph Gann, who had donated $5,000,000. In 2004, Gann moved into a newly built 110,000 sq. ft. campus building in Waltham. The land the campus was built on was formerly occupied by the Murphy Army Hospital. The 2005 documentary '' Hineini'' focused on the school, and one student's efforts to create a

gay–straight alliance A Gay–Straight Alliance, Gender-Sexuality Alliance (GSA) or Queer–Straight Alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organisation, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the United ...

there.

Judaism

Gann Academy is a pluralistic day school with students and faculty coming from a number of different denominations of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

. There are students of

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

, Reconstructionist, Secular, and non-denominational backgrounds. Students have mandatory

Tefillah Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...

two days a week but have a variety of different options as to what type to attend. The school as a whole keeps vegetarian dairy kosher, and students bring meat into the building.

Academics

The school has a

student-teacher ratio A student teacher or prac teacher (''practice teacher'') is a college, university or graduate student who is teaching under the supervision of a certified teacher in order to qualify for a degree in education. The term is also often used interch ...

of 5:1. In addition to general studies such as STEM, language and arts classes, the school's curriculum includes classes which focus on Judaism, Jewish history and the Hebrew language. The school's history program places a heavy emphasis on debate and civics. In 2007, Jonathan Golden, chair of the history department, described the school's approach as "a John Dewey-inspired experiment in democratic education." The school has an acapella group called the ShenaniGanns.

Athletics

Gann Academy offers the following in terms of sport: * Basketball * Yoga * Fitness * Farming * Tennis * Frisbee * Hiking * Table Tennis * Volleyball * Running

Campus

The school's Waltham campus was designed by architect Steve Friedlander.

References

{{authority control Private high schools in Massachusetts Pluralistic Jewish day schools Jewish day schools in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Waltham, Massachusetts Schools in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1997 1997 establishments in Massachusetts